2012 TIFF Emerging Filmmakers Competition - finalists announced

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced the finalists of their second RBC Emerging Filmmakers Competition. The 20 participating filmmakers of the 2011 TIFF Talent Lab were asked to make a short film on a given theme with selected films becoming eligible to win prizes. This year's theme was "time."

Talent Lab participants were asked to develop a 1-5 minute short film and given three months to make their film. Each filmmaker received a $500 bursary donated by RBC and a small video camera. Finalists were selected by a jury panel comprised of established film industry producers, directors and executives. The top five films will now be judged before the 2012 Festival by online voters as well as an official jury of industry professionals.

Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards 2012 – winners

Last night, the Toronto Theatre Critics Association announced the winners for their 2nd annual Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards.

Topping the awards were Carole Fréchette's The Small Room at the Top of the Stairs, and the musicals Ride the Cyclone by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell, and Caroline, or Change by Tony Kushner. They each picked up three awards.

This year, the Best New Play category was divided into Best Canadian Play and Best International Play and both awards went to Asian-themed plays. The Canadian Play award went to Ins Choi's Kim’s Convenience which was a huge Fringe Festival hit before being picked up by Soulpepper. The play is set in a Korean variety store and stars Paul Sun-Hyung Lee who won took the honours for Best Actor in a play. The popular play has been extended yet again for another run from June 27 to July 4.

2012 Guichet d’Or prize goes to Ken Scott and Martin Petit

TELEFILM CANADA AWARDS ITS 2011 GUICHET D’OR TO THE CANADIAN DIRECTOR AND CO-WRITERS OF THE FEATURE STARBUCK

KEN SCOTT AND MARTIN PETIT TAKE TOP HONOURS

Montreal, May 30, 2012 – Telefilm Canada this morning awarded its Guichet d’Or prize to the director and co-writer of Starbuck, Ken Scott, as well as to the film’s co-writer, Martin Petit, in the company of Patrick Huard, Julie LeBreton and Antoine Bertrand. The prize comes with a cash award of $20,000 for each of the winners. The Guichet d’Or has been awarded annually for the past five years to the Canadian writer and director of the Canadian French-language feature film with the highest-grossing domestic box-office sales during the previous year. In 2011, Starbuck took in more than $3.5 million at the Canadian box office.

Mutek International Festival of Digital Creativity and Electronic Music, May 30-June 3

The 13th Mutek International Festival of Digital Creativity and Electronic Music begins today with several shows including performances by Nelly-Eve Rajotte, TRINITY, Robin Fox, DKMD, Blondes and Apparat Band. A number of other shows and performances will be free.

Of particular interest is the North American premiere of Cinechamber, in which the Fellini space in Excentris has been set up to be a panoramic projection room that can be operated in sync with audio artists. A dozen local and international artists have been invited to manipulate the intermodal platform live, and navigate the space as an audio-optical instrument or as instrumentalists working in analog or digital real-time formations.

In addition, Mutek will host a "Tools for an Unknown Future" Symposium and a Digi_Section Conference.

LIFT's free panel on short film funding

PANEL DISCUSSION: SHORT FILM FUNDING

Wednesday, May 30, 2012 - 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Seating is limited. First come, first served.

Join curators from Bravo!FACT, Astral’s Harold Greenberg Fund and Canadian Short Screenplay Competition (CSSC) for an informal panel discussion on short film funding. Get familiar with the funds available, for whom and the critical elements for getting your film funded.

Call for submissions: Confessions Underground

CALL FOR CONFESSIONS: Deadline July 1st

Part social experiment, part public intervention, Confessions Underground is a video based art project that gives willing participants the rare opportunity to record a private on-camera confession and broadcast it publicly over 300 of Toronto’s digital subway platform screens.

From July 2st – July 15th, video confessions will be screened daily throughout Toronto’s underground subway system, intersecting with the daily comings-and-goings of commuter traffic.

Sound terrifying? Yes, probably. But who knows? It could also be exhilarating, cathartic, perhaps even liberating.

2012 Bulgarian Film Academy Awards – winners

The Българската филмова академия (Bulgarian Film Academy) held the ceremony tonight for their 3rd annual Наградите на Българската филмова академия (Bulgarian Film Academy Awards).

The big winner of the night was Аве (Avé) by Константин Божанов (Konstantin Bojanov). It took a total of three awards. It not only won the top prize of Best Film, but also picked up Best Actor for Ованес Торосян (Ovanes Torosian) and Best First Film. The story is about an art student Kamen hitchhiking from Sofia to Ruse and meeting a young woman Avé who claims to be on her way to visit and terminally ill grandmother.

The internet-themed drama Love.net by Илиян Джевелеков (Ilian Djevelekov) managed to pick up more awards, however. It won for Best Director, Cinematographer, Art Direction and Editing.

60th Stratford Shakespeare Festival, May 28-Oct 28

Tonight, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival launches their 60th season with a Gala presentation of Much Ado About Nothing. Directed by Christopher Newton, the play will star Ben Carlson as Benedick and Deborah Hay as Beatrice. Newton was a member of the Festival’s acting company from 1966 to 1968.

Five other plays open in quick succession this week: 42nd Street, directed by Gary Griffin and featuring Sean Arbuckle as Julian Marsh, Kyle Blair as Billy Lawlor, Cynthia Dale as Dorothy Brock, and Jennifer Rider-Shaw as Peggy Sawyer; You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, directed by Donna Feore, featuring Stephen Patterson as Snoopy, Erica Peck as Lucy and Ken James Stewart as Charlie Brown; Cymbeline, directed by Antoni Cimolino, featuring Graham Abbey as Posthumus, Tom McCamus as Iachimo, Cara Ricketts as Innogen, and Geraint Wyn Davies as Cymbeline; The Pirates of Penzance, directed by Ethan McSweeny, featuring Sean Arbuckle as the Pirate King, Kyle Blair as Frederic, C. David Johnson as the Major General, and Amy Wallis as Mabel Stanley; and The Matchmaker, directed by Chris Abraham, featuring Tom McCamus as Horace Vandergelder and Seana McKenna as Dolly Levi.

The Script Tease Project 2012, May 28-June 3

After a very successful inaugural run last year, the Script Tease Project by the improv troupe The National Theatre of the World returns with another week of their very popular brand of improvised plays in collaboration with local writers.

Tonight, the run kicks off with Maja Ardal, and Icelandic-Canadian playwright. She, like the other writers, will be asked to provide the first two pages of a play. The troupe, consisting of Matt Baram, Ron Pederson and Naomi Sniekus, will then improvise the remainder of the play in the style of the writer.

The shows will continue all week with an 8pm show every weekday and two shows a day on Friday to Sunday. The other invited writers are Michael Healey, Anusree Roy, Sky Gilbert, Karen Hines, Lee MacDougall, Scott Thompson, Adam Pettle, Ins Choi and John Murrell.

2012 DOC NOW Film Festival, May 28-June 1

Ryerson University's 2012 DOC NOW Documentary Media Festival began earlier this month with an exhibition of Rehab Nazzal's At Home, as part of the CONTACT Photography Festival. Tonight, the film festival portion of the festival begins at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

The opening screening will be Alternatives and features The Grass Is Always Greener by Arianne Persaud, Food for All by Marcelo Paolinelli, Brunswick St. by Halley Roback and Kevin Fraser's Analogue. Each film explores those with a different perspective on everyday topics.

The film screenings continue until Friday, June 1 at TIFF Bell Lightbox. The following week, there will be additional screenings of each program on June 8 and 9 at the School of Image Arts building in room 304.

2012 Festival de Cannes – award winners

The 65th Festival de Cannes drew to a close tonight with the closing awards ceremony at the Grand Théâtre Lumière, hosted by Academy Award nominated actress Berenice Bejo.

The top prize was captured yet again by Michael Haneke for his portrait of an elderly couple Amour. This is the second time he has bested Jacques Audiard who was also in competition with De rouille et d'os (Rust and Bone). Haneke becomes one of the few two-time Palme d'Or winners alongside Alf Sjöberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Bille August, Emir Kusturica, Shohei Imamura, and brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, and only the second after August to win with consecutive films – his previous Palme d'Or was for his 2009 film Das weiße Band (The White Ribbon).

Matteo Garrone picked up his second Grand Prix for his film Reality. Previously, he had won in 2008 for Gomorrah.

2012 Leo Awards for B.C. film/TV – winners (part 2)

After Friday night's presentation of the Celebration Awards, the 14th annual Leo Awards for British Columbia's film and television industry presented the remaining trophies last night. The Gala Awards presentation was hosted by Sanctuary stars Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne.

Carl Bessai's Sisters&Brothers the Feature Length Drama categories with a total of six awards. In addition to the Editing award from Friday, it picked up Best Feature Length Drama, Best Direction, Musical Score, Supporting Actor (Tom Scholte) and Lead Actress (Amanda Crew). It had led with twelve nominations. Sisters&Brothers is an ensemble film that explores a number of sibling relationships and has a light touch that is atypical of Bessai's often weighty work.

The only other multiple prize-winner in the feature section was Sunflower Hour, picking up Best Supporting Actress (Johannah Newmarch) to go with its Casting prize from Friday. Donovan's Echo did not manage to add to its two awards from earlier.

2012 Leo Awards for B.C. film/TV – winners (part 1)

The first group of winners for the 2012 Leo Awards were presented last night at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. The evening was hosted by Gary Jones.

So far, Donovan's Echo leads the Feature Length Drama section with two awards, for Best Overall Sound and Sound Editing. Other winners for feature films are Doppleganger Paul (Screenwriting), Sisters&Brothers (Picture Editing), Magic Beyond Words: The J.K. Rowling Story (Production Design), Hamlet (Costume Design), and Sunflower Hour (Casting).

The remainder of the awards will be presented tonight, also at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. The Gala Awards Ceremony will be hosted by Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne.

Un Certain Regard 2012 award winners

UN CERTAIN REGARD 2012 AWARDS

Un Certain Regard 2012 presented 20 films directed by 26 directors hailing from 17 different countries. Four of the works were first films.

Presided over by Tim Roth (actor, director), the Jury was comprised of Leïla Bekhti (actress), Sylvie Pras (head of cinema - Centre Pompidou Paris, artistic director - La Rochelle Festival), Tonie Marshall (director, producer) and Luciano Monteagudo (critic - Pagina/12 - Buenos Aires).

“This was an extraordinarily strong group of films and our deliberations were passionate. The film makers never once failed us! Incredible!” Tim Roth

2012 Toronto International Music Summit, May 26

The first ever Toronto International Music Summit takes place today in the city's downtown. The Toronto Music Summit is a conference for the independent and unsigned emerging artist representing all genres of music.

The headlining guest speakers are Kardinal Offichall and music video producer Director X. Conference speakers include Dale Kotyk (Vice President Marketing, Warner Music Group), Vered Koren (Director Music & Brand Partnerships, EMI Music Canada), Rodney Murphy (SOCAN Education & Outreach), and Jeff Leake (Program Director, Sirius Satellite Radio).

The main conference takes place at the Fairmont Royal York, while the performances take place at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Call for submissions: Toronto After Dark Film Festival

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival has officially put out a call for submissions for its 2012 edition, its seventh.

TAD is Toronto's leading genre festival for films including horror, sci-fi, fantasy, animation, crime, action, suspense, thriller, documentary, music videos and cult/bizarre films, both in short form and feature-length.

The 7th Annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival expands this year to nine nights, from October 18-26, 2012. It returns to the Bloor Cinema.

2012 Quinzaine des Réalisateurs (Directors' Fortnight) award winners

Art Cinema Award
No, Pablo Larraín (Chile, U.S., Mexico)
Jury 2012 : Joanna Lapinska, Albert Wiederspiel and Jimi Andreani

. Given by the CICAE, Confédération Internationale des Cinémas d’Art et d’Essai (International Confederation of Art Cinemas), its mission is to promote quality motion pictures on wide screens, to defend the ‘’right for cultural diversity’’.

2012 Cinéfondation award winners

The 15th Cinéfondation award winners revealed today by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and his Jury

The Cinéfondation and Short Film Jury headed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and including Arsinée Khanjian, Karim Aïnouz, Emmanuel Carrère and Yu Lik-Wai, has awarded the 2012 Cinéfondation Prizes during a ceremony held in the Buñuel Theatre, followed by the screening of the winning films.

The Cinéfondation Selection consisted of 15 student films, chosen out of nearly 1 700 entries coming from 320 film schools around the world.


First Prize:

Free screening of Overheard 2

In celebration of May being Asian Heritage Month, the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival hosts a number of events including a free screening tonight of Felix Chong and Alan Mak's crime drama Overheard 2. It is a sequel in name only, since the main cast is the same as in Overheard but their characters are not.

Manson Law (Ching Wan Lau), a celebrated stockbroker in Hong Kong is injured in a car accident. The police, led by Inspector Jack Ho (Louis Koo), discovers a military surveillance device in the car wreck. Meanwhile, the wiretapper Joe (Daniel Wu) is unveiling his extensive plan that targets the mysterious financial conglomerate, the Landlord Club. The fate of these three men soon intertwines in the cat-and-mouse game that may bring down the entire stock market. -- Distribution Workshop

Rehearsal Hall 2012, May 25-27

Rehearsal Hall is an event put on by Fresh Herbs, Tarragon Theatre's youth development program(s). The mini-festival of their latest creations features 10-minute plays, a staged reading and a public panel. All events are pay-what-you-can.

It kicks off tonight with an open rehearsal of the two primary programs. Then tomorrow, there will be a professional workshop reading of The Education of Jamie Stewart by Lyndsey Bourne, followed by the first of the primary programs. The second takes place on the Sunday afternoon, followed by a panel discussion.

2012 Cannes Critics Week – awards winners

51ST SEMAINE DE LA CRITIQUE – AND THE WINNERS ARE…

* * * Feature films * * *

Nespresso Grand Prize for La Semaine de la Critique
Jury : Bertrand Bonello (President) and film critics Francisco Ferreira (Expresso, Portugal),
Akiko Kobari (Yukan Fuji, Japan), Robert Koehler (Variety, USA) and Hanns-Georg Rodek (Die Welt, Germany).

AQUÍ Y ALLÁ Antonio Méndez Esparza
(Spain/USA/Mexico)

2012 Subtle Technologies Festival, May 24-27

Tonight, the 15th anual Subtle Technologies Festival kicks off in downtown Toronto.

The opening show will be Elaine Whittaker’s Cc:me. She calls herself a bioartist and in this show she combines live halobacteria with archival fax material collected over a ten year period. The installation includes her poetry and sound design. Poetry reading will be by Julie Roorda, Jim Johnstone, Ruth Roach Pierson and Larry Sulky. Ambient sound work by Tom Auger.

The opening show Cc:me and reception takes place at the Red Head Gallery at 7:30pm.

Call for submissions: Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition

The Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre in Toronto has put out a call for submissions for their 2012 Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition.

They are seeking scripts for plays of one to two hours in length. All Canadians or those with a close association are eligible. The playwright need not be Jewish, however, there should be some aspect of Jewish life or focus in the play itself.

Free advance screening of Lovely Molly

Join us for a sneak peek at the year's most terrifying movie: Lovely Molly.

The event will be moderated by Todd Brown from Twitch Film (www.twitchfilm.com) and will feature a Q&A with director Eduardo Sanchez.

Synopsis: When newlywed Molly Reynolds returns to her long-abandoned family home, reminders of a nightmarish childhood begin seeping into her new life. A malevolent force, whether her own haunted past or some supernatural 'thing,' tirelessly seeks to overwhelm her.

Alone and isolated in a centuries-old manor, she soon begins an inexorable descent into depravity. Somewhere in the house, in the terrible space between psychosis and possession, lies an evil that will pull Molly and all those around her into darkness and death.

David Cronenberg exhibit announced for TIFF Lightbox

TIFF CELEBRATES DAVID CRONENBERG WITH NEW EXHIBITION
TIFF’s first ever major original touring exhibition launches in Fall 2013

Toronto — Days away from the hotly anticipated world premiere of David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis at the 65th Cannes Film Festival, Piers Handling, Director and CEO, TIFF and Noah Cowan, Artistic Director, TIFF Bell Lightbox, announced today that TIFF will mount a major exhibition related to the Canadian director, screenwriter and actor. The Cronenberg exhibition, set to launch in Fall 2013 at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, is co-curated by Handling and Cowan and will be accompanied by several additional elements, including a newly commissioned augmented reality game and a dedicated film programme. This marks the first time TIFF has curated an original exhibition of this magnitude, which will be packaged to tour beginning Summer 2014.

“David Cronenberg is one of the world’s greatest living filmmakers. He also represents Canadian cinema at its very best. This exhibition underscores our commitment to Canadian film and its legacy, through our 20-year history of working with David to preserve his papers and objects in a special archive, and our efforts to restore and make available his film catalogue,” said Handling. Added Cowan: “This is a major milestone for our organization and we can’t wait to present our exhibition to film lovers at TIFF Bell Lightbox next fall and to make it available to leading cultural institutions worldwide.”

2012 BET Awards – nominations

The nominations are out for the 2012 BET (Black Entertainment Television) Awards. Kanye West leads the pack with seven nominations. Five of them are for his collaboration with Jay-Z.

Jay-Z's wife Beyoncé was a six-time nominee. The husband-and-wife pair compete directly against each other for four of the possible awards.

In the film category, the Best Movie nods went to Good Deeds, Jumping The Broom, Laugh At My Pain, Red Tails and The Help. Viola Davis was nominated for Best Actress, along with Angela Bassett, Taraji P. Henson, Regina King and Zoe Saldana. For Best Actor, Don Cheadle and Denzel Washington are up against Common, Idris Elba and Kevin Hart.

The Cadillac Lifetime Achievement award will be presented to Maze featuring Frankie Beverly.

2012 Obie Awards – winners

The 57th Annual Obie Awards for Off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions were given last night by the Village Voice at Webster Hall in the East Village. The awards were presented by actors Eric McCormack, Grace Gummer, Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce, Justin Bartha, Leslie Odom Jr., Lily Rabe, Michael McKean, Tonya Pinkins, Topher Grace, and Tracee Chimo.

The winner for Best New American Play was Amy Herzog's 4000 Miles about a young man who arrives at his widowed grandmother's place after cycling across the country. It also received a Performance Award for its leads Gabriel Ebert and Mary Louise Wilson.

The awards were decided by a jury of theatre writers/critics and past Obie winners. The critics were Brian Parks, Michael Feingold, Alexis Soloski, and Helen Shaw, while the past Obie winners were Annie Baker, Anne Kauffman and José Rivera.

2012 Billboard Music Awards – winners

The 2012 Billboard Music Awards took place tonight at at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The event was hosted by Modern Family stars Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell.

British singer Adele cleaned up yet again winning twelve awards from her leading 20 nominations in 18 categories. Her wins included Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top Billboard 200 Album, Top Pop Album for 21, and Top Alternative Song for "Rolling in the Deep."

LMFAO began the show with a medley of their hits "Party Rock Anthem", "Sorry for the Party Rocking" and "I'm Sexy and I Know It". They went on to win six awards themselves including Top Duo/Group. "Party Rock Anthem" was the winner of five awards of their awards including Top Hot 100 Song, Top Pop Song and Top Dance Song.

2012 Mongolian Academy Awards – winners

The Mongolian National Movie Academy in collaboration with the City Art and Culture Department recently held their second Mongolian Academy Awards at the National Academic Drama Theatre.

Бодлын хулгайч (Bodliin Hulgaich / Mind stealer) came out on top, winning Best Film. The top award comes with a cash prize of five million MNT and a trip to Hollywood. It also captured Best Actor (B.Amarsaikhan), Supporting Actress (Sh.Delgerjargal), Screenplay, Cinematography and Sound.

Picking up two awards each were Богд хаан (Bogd Khan), Долоон Бурхан Харвадаггүй (Doloon Burhan Harvadaggui / The Plough (or big dipper) never shoots), Хөх толбот хүмүүс (Huh tolbot humuus / People with blue spots) and Хүний хүүхэд (Hunii Huuhed / Child of a stranger).

2012 Drama League Awards – winners

Earlier today, the 78th Annual Drama League Awards luncheon took place with hosts Stockard Channing and John Larroquette at the Marriott Marquis Times Square. The Drama League Awards are given to honour outstanding productions and performances on Broadway and Off-Broadway. Winners and nominees are chosen by audience members who have chosen to join the Drama League.

Other Desert Cities came away with the Distinguished Production of a Play Award. Distinguished Revival of a Play went to Death of a Salesman, while Distinguished Production of a Musical was awarded to Once, an adaptation of the film. Distinguished Revival of a Musical was presented to Follies.

The ultra-competitive Distinguished Performance Award was captured by Audra McDonald for her role in the Gershwin opera Porgy and Bess. She had been competing against 55 other candidates including Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Angela Lansbury, John Larroquette, Kevin Spacey and Alan Rickman.

The Punjabi International Film Festival 2012, May 18-21

The inaugural Punjabi International Film Festival launches tonight in Toronto. Tonight begins with an Opening Gala with Jasbir Jassi live in concert at the Grand Victorian Ball Room of the Raddision Plaza Hotel, Mississauga.

Then screenings take place throughout the long weekend starting with Canadian Soldier Sikhs: A Little Story in a Big War. In addition to screenings, there will be accompanying discussions; live musical  and dance performances; and seminars, panels and workshops. Many of the screenings and events are free.

The Closing Film on Monday will be Anhey Ghore Da Daan (Alms for a Blind Horse).

Teen Choice Awards 2012 – nominations

Fox Network's Teen Choice Awards have announced the first wave of nominations for their 14th Teen Choice Awards.

From this first batch, several films tied for the lead with four nominations apiece. They were The Avengers, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, and What to Expect When You’re Expecting. However, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 also picked up a Choice Male Hottie nod for Robert Pattinson as well as a Choice Book nomination for author Stephanie Meyer.

Films that received three nominations each were Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, The Hunger Games, The Help, We Bought a Zoo, The Vow, 21 Jump Street, American Reunion, and Crazy, Stupid, Love. The Hunger Games was also nominated for its book series by Suzanne Collins and Liam Hemsworth picked up a Choice Male Hottie mention.

Ingrid Veninger's $1000 Feature Film Challenge [UPDATED]

The iconoclastic indie filmmaker Ingrid Veninger has announced a $1000 Feature Film Challenge for fellow low-budget guerrilla movie types. She is now accepting submissions from filmmakers/teams who wish to participate.

She is offering up the proceeds from the screenings of her latest feature i am a good person/i am a bad person at the Royal Cinema, where it plays in mid-June. Submissions are due on the last screening day, June 21, after which all applicants may attend a free weekend masterclass in Micro-Budget filmmaking. Then on Monday, June 25th, she will announce which projects will go forward.

The films can begin shooting through July, after which post-production begins in August. Finished films will screen at the Royal Cinema in late September.

2012 Canadian Cinema Editors Awards – winners

Last night, the Canadian Cinema Editors held 2nd Annual Canadian Cinema Editors Awards at The Capitol Event Theatre in Toronto.

The winner for Best Editing in Feature Length Dramatic was Roger Matussi for Afghan Luke, winning against the editors for High Chicago, I'm Yours, A Dangerous Method and House of the Rising Sun. Michele Hozer won for Best Editing in Documentary for West Wind: The Vision of Tom Thompson .

Don Cassidy won in the Television Movie or Mini-Series category with the Broken Promises and deadly Barriers" episode of The Kennedys. Teresa De Luca won the Long Form Television Series prize with the "Reason to Believe" episode of Combat Hospital. For 1/2 hour Broadcast Short Form, the award went to Brigitte Rabazo of the now-canceled Todd & the Pure Book of Evil for "Fisting Fantasy".

Call for submissions: ReelWorld's Emerging 20 2012

Toronto's multicultural film festival ReelWorld has put out a call for submissions to emerging filmmakers from diverse backgrounds to participate in their Indie Film Lounge as one of their Emerging 20.

The 20 successful applicants will receive preparatory free workshops and mentoring from industry professionals in late August and early September. Then during the Toronto International Film Festival, they will get to participate in the Indie Film Lounge, Face2Face sessions with an impressive group of mentors, Panels and Case Studies over two days courtesy of ReelWorld.

Other than the application fee, the program is free. I have participated in it myself and have found it very valuable and worthwhile. In addition to making many new contacts in the industry, you will make many new friends amongst your fellow E20 participants.

2012 Ivor Novello Awards – winners

Tonight at the Grosvenor House, London, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA) and the Performing Right Society (PRS) for Music held their ceremony for the 57th Annual Ivor Novello Awards for excellence in British and Irish songwriting.

The awards were spread around but Adele was a double-winner. She won one of her four nominations with Most Performed Work for Rolling In The Deep and she also picked up a Songwriter of the Year prize.

She lost out on the Album Award to PJ Harvey with Let England Shake. The prize for Best Song Musically & Lyrically went to Ed Sheeran for The A Team. Oddly enough, the Best Contemporary Song went to Lana Del Rey for Video Games, which had caused a stir on Saturday Night Live when she performed it nervously and disastrously.

The surprise winner for Best Film Score was Alex Heffes for The First Grader. He had been up against Jonny Greenwood for We Need To Talk About Kevin and Harry Gregson-Williams and Matthew Herbert for Life In A Day.

Montreal Underground Film Festival 2012, May 17-20

The 7th Montreal Underground Film Festival begins tonight with an opening night screening at 8pm at Sala Rossa on St-Laurent. The opening program consists of a dozen short films by filmmakers from across Canada.

MUFF celebrates and promotes low-budget filmmakers and those who challenge the boundaries of mainstream Hollywood and the conventional film aesthetic attitude. Their focus is primarily on independent, experimental and avant-garde short films.

2012 Inside Out LGBT Film Festival, May 17-27

Inside Out's 22nd annual Toronto LGBT Film Festival kicks off tonight with a screening of Sally El Hosaini’s award-winning film My Brother The Devil. The Sundance and Berlinale hit is the coming-of-age story of two Arab brothers in the London streets.

The closing night film will be Bye Bye Blondie by Virginie Despentes (Baise-Moi) and stars France's Emmanuelle Béart and Béatrice Dalle.

Other films playing during the festival include Beloved, starring Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni; Berlin Film Festival award-winner Call Me Kuchu; Thom Fitzgerald's Cloudburst, starring Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker; and 2012 Academy Award nominee Bullhead.

LUX Style Awards 2012 – nominations

The 11th LUX Style Awards, the only entertainment awards show in Pakistan, announced their nominations in 26 categories of Film, Television, Music and Fashion.

Unfortunately, only one movie was deemed worthy of any nominations in the three film categories. Shoaib Mansoor’s Bol (Speak) was the sole nominee for Best Film and its stars Manzar Sehbhai and Humaima Malik were the only contenders for Best Actor and Actress respectively. The film broke all previous box-office records in the Pakistan and tells the story of a very religious father who is confronted by the liberal ways of his daughters and son.

Mera Saaen led the television nominations with five. Aao Kahani Buntay Hain followed with four mentions. Noman Ejaz and Fahad Musafa were among the individuals who received two nominations apiece.

2012 MuchMusic Video Awards – nominations

Although music videos seem like a thing of the past and MuchMusic rarely shows them anymore, they still honour them with an awards show. They've announced the nominations for their 2012 MuchMusic Video Awards.

Vancouver punk rockers Marianas Trench led the pack with seven nominations including Video of the Year for Fallout. Fallout received four nods while Haven’t Had Enough picked up two. They also are nominated as a group for UR Fave Artist.

Drake and Hedley were next with five nominations. Carly Rae Jepsen and Down With Webster followed with four each. All four were nominated for Video of the Year, and all received nods for UR Fave Artist except Down With Webster, who missed out in favour of Justin Bieber.

Gérard du cinéma 2012 (French film awards) – "winners"

Loosely based on the Razzie Awards, the satirical Gérard du cinéma held their 7th awards ceremony last night at Théâtre Michel in honour of the worst in French cinema. They are usually held a day or two before either the César du cinema or the Festival de Cannes, which begins tomorrow. They have a lot more fun with the naming of the awards too, creating new categories every year. However, some of the awards this year smack vaguely of racism and Islamophobia.

The Gérard du film for worst movie was shared by the two competing remakes of earlier films based on Louis Pergaud's novel La Guerre des boutons (War of the Buttons). One was titled La Guerre des boutons while the other was called La Nouvelle Guerre des boutons but both used War of the Buttons as their English title. The films were released a week apart in September 2011 to poor critical and audience response.

Other notable awards include Jean Reno winning Desperate Actor for Comme un chef (The Chef), while the Desperate Actress prize went to Judith Godrèche for Low Cost. The Role of a lifetime prize was given to Pierre Arditi for his LCL commercial.

U.S. Winners for 2012 Student Academy Awards

Academy Announces U.S. Winners for 2012 Student Academy Awards®

Beverly Hills, CA (May 15, 2012) – Ten students from nine U.S. colleges and universities have been selected as winners in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 39th Annual Student Academy Awards competition. Winners will be brought to Los Angeles to join the international student winners in the Foreign Film category for a week of industry activities. The festivities will culminate in the awards ceremony on Saturday, June 9, at 6 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, where the placements in each category will be announced.

The winners are (listed alphabetically by film title in each category):

CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival announces 2012 lineup

CFC WORLDWIDE SHORT FILM FESTIVAL BRINGS THE BEST IN SHORT FILM TO NORTH AMERICA

2012 FESTIVAL TAKES TORONTO BY STORM JUNE 5-10

Toronto, May 15, 2012 – CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival (WSFF), North America’s largest short film festival, is pleased to announce the line-up of films for its 18^th annual edition. Showcasing the best short films from around the world, WSFF presents a selection comprised of 244 films from 35 countries. This year’s programming was chosen from over 4,700 submissions, surpassing 2011’s total of 4,200. As the premier venue for the exhibition and promotion of short film in North America, WSFF is dedicated to celebrating quality and creative range in short film.

This year’s collection of short films is comprised of 207 premieres; with 38 World Premieres (an increase over 2011’s 24 World Premieres). Programming includes a variety of genres, made up of live-action, animation, experimental, documentary and music videos.

2012 ZeBBie Awards – winners

The Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild recently held their 5th annual ZeBBie Awards at the Sugar Club, Dublin to honour the year's best scripts by Irish writers in various formats. The awards are named in honour of actor/writer O. Z. Whitehead who was nicknamed "Zebby."

Juanita Wilson took the Best Feature Film Script prize with her Bosnian war story As If I Am Not There, besting Ciarán Creagh for his script Parked and Terry McMahon's Charlie Casanova. Wilson's debut film, it recently won for Best Film, Director and Screenplay at the 8th annual Irish Film and Television Awards. It was Ireland's submission to the Academy for the Best Foreign Language Film consideration.

The Best Short Film Script went to Claire Dix for Downpour. The film is a celebration of Irish rain, as a bride-to-be recollects how key relationship moments that took place in a shower or downpour.

2012 Toronto International Film Festival Programming Team Announced

The Toronto International Film Festival made several announcements this morning.

They announced a return to the newly renovated Bloor Hot Docs Cinema as a screening venue for this year’s Festival. “We’re thrilled to have a foot in Toronto's Annex neighbourhood for our 2012 Festival,” said Artistic Director Cameron Bailey. “We go way back with the Bloor Cinema; in the ’80s and ’90s it was one of the Festival’s most loved venues.” The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema will primarily screen Vanguard and documentary selections during TIFF 2012.

They released the names of the programmes for the next festival, which mostly remain the same but renames the Real to Reel documentary section to TIFF Docs, and adds a new TIFF Cinematheque programme for curated works from Canadian and international cinema. As well, The Canada First! programme for debut Canadian filmmakers will now see those films in other sections, and the Visions programme will merge into the Wavelengths programme for avant-garde and experimental works.

2012 Sidabrinės gervės (Lithuanian film awards) – winners

The 5th Annual Sidabrinės gervės (Silver Crane Awards) were held tonight by the Lietuvių kino akademijos (Lithuanian Film Academy) at the Lietuvos nacionaliniame dramos teatre (Lithuanian National Drama Theatre) in Vilnius.

Miegančių drugelių tvirtovė (Citadel of Sleeping Butterflies) by Algimantas Puipa topped the winners with four awards. It won for Best Picture, Best Director, Actress (Janina Lapinskaitė), and Supporting Actress (Acting ensemble of Elze Gudavičiūtė, Giedrė Giedraitytė, Miglė Polikevičiūtė).

Donatas Ulvydas' Tadas Blinda. Pradžia (Tadas Blinda. The Legend is Born) also picked up four awards. It came away with Best Supporting Actor (Vidas Petkevičius), Cinematographer, Composer and Professional Work for producer Žilvinas Naujokas. It had led the nominations with seven.

2012 Rosie Awards for Alberta film and television – winners

On Saturday night, the Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA) held the 38th Annual Alberta Film & Television Awards or Rosie Awards for Alberta film, television and new media at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Calgary. Stand up comedian Steve Patterson hosted the event.

Michael Peterson's Lloyd the Conqueror claimed the Best Dramatic Feature prize. It also won for Original Music Score – Drama. Jonathan Joffe's comedy The Burlesque Assassins led with ten nominations, but its only win was for Cinematographer – Drama Over 30 Minutes.

Niobe Thompson's doocumentary The Perfect Runner cleaned up with five awards. Three went to Thompson herself, for Best Documentary Over 30 Minutes, Director (Non-Fiction Over 30) and Screenwriter (Non-Fiction Over 30). It also won for Cinematographer and Editor.

The Oscar-nominated animated NFB short Wild Life by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis won all three of its nominated categories, taking Best Short, Best Overall Sound – Drama and Best Animator(s) or Motion Graphics Artist(s).

DIY Art & Life, A Day with Joe Swanberg

Ultra 8 Pictures, CINSSU and Refocus are pumped to co-present DIY Art & Life: A Day with Joe Swanberg.

Hosted at Innis Town Hall on Sunday May 13th, the event will feature Toronto premiere screenings of the Full Moon trilogy (THE ZONE, ART HISTORY, SILVER BULLETS) by acclaimed independent director Joe Swanberg, with the director in attendance. An extended discussion on DIY filmmaking will follow the third screening.

Here's your chance to see Joe Swanberg live for the first time since his appearance at TIFF in 2010 as a cast member in Adam Wingard's A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE. Adam also photographed and stars in both ART HISTORY and THE ZONE.

2012 Australian Directors Guild (ADG) Awards – winners

The Australian Directors Guild (ADG) held their 30th Anniversary ADG Awards last night at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney. The event was hosted by Craig Reucassel and Chris Taylor of the comedy group The Chaser.

The surprise winner for Best Direction in a Feature Film was Julia Leigh for her controversial debut film Sleeping Beauty. She had been up against Brendan Fletcher for Mad Bastards and presumed front-runners Justin Kurzel for Snowtown and Kriv Stenders for Red Dog.

For the Documentary Feature catergory, there was a tie between Tony Krawitz (The Tall Man) and Bob Connolly and Sophie Raymond (Mrs Carey’s Concert). Krawitz also received the Finders Award, given by the ADG and the Directors Guild of America Finders series to an ADG Awards feature film entry which is yet to secure US distribution, to screen in Los Angeles to key industry figures including distributors.

Indonesian Movie Awards 2012 – nominations

The network RCTI has announced the nominations for the 6th Annual Indonesian Movie Awards. However, they only announced the nominations for the Terfavorit (Favourite) Awards voted on by the public, and not the Terbaik (Best) Awards which are chosen by a jury of industry professionals.

The leader with four nominations was the omnibus film Dilema (Dilemma) directed by Adilla Dimitri, Robby Ertanto, Wulan Guritno, Rinaldy Puspoyo and Robert Ronny. It took nominations for Favourite Actor (Tio Pakusadewo), Favourite Actress (Wulan Guritno), Favourite Male Newcomer (Baim Wong) and Favourite Film.

Films with three nominations each were Lovely Man, Sang Penari (The Dancer), Arisan 2 (The Gathering 2), Pengejar Angin (The Wind Chaser) and Tendangan Dari Langit (A Kick from Heaven).